 Birchwood Dairy, Abbotsford, Dannielle Hayes photo Visit a traditional working farm, buy fresh produce direct from the grower, check out a bustling farmers' market or step behind-the-scenes for a look at a modern agricultural operation. Tours begin within an hour's drive of Vancouver
and can extend anywhere from two hours to two days. Some stops are open
year round, but the majority operate from July to September. Brochures
with detailed maps are available from local Visitor Centres.
Popular Farm Tour Routes include:
Abbotsford Circle Farm Tour
This palate-tempting tour is packed with farm-fresh foods in country eateries, dairy-fresh ice cream, just-picked produce, locally-produced jams and freshly baked breads.
Highlights include:
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Campbell's Gold Honey Farm & Meadery: Sample an assortment of natural and flavoured honeys while perusing a variety of related products, including beeswax candles, ointments, soaps, sweets, and mead.
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Tanglebank Country Gardens: Saunter through tranquil gardens at this family-run, cottage-style nursery.
Agassiz-Harrison Mills Circle Farm Tour
This tour is packed with history, treats for foodlovers, and lots of kids-centric action.
Highlights include:
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Limbert Mountain Farm: Create your own potted herb garden by choosing from the farm's selection of 100 varieties or take home fresh-cut herbs, herbal salads, stir-fry greens, garlic and chestnuts.
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Canadian Hazelnut: Come in September or October to pick your own.
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The Farm House Natural Cheeses: Watch artisans crafting delectable cheeses from the milk of their own farm-raised cows and goats.
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Kilby Historic Site: You'll feel like you've stepped back in time when you poke around this intriguing 100-year-old community.
Chilliwack Circle Farm Tour
Get the buzz on bees and discover the many different flavours of honey, fill up on irresistible artisan breads and handmade cheeses, meander through stunning show gardens and come fall, get lost and found in a corn maze.
Highlights include:
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Chilliwack Corn Maze: In every season there is always something to do here. In the summer get lost in a maze of maize. Pick your own apples in early fall and near Halloween, tour the pumpkin patch by wagon.
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Honeyview Farm: Visit BC's largest beekeeping farm; get a front row view of some 50,000 bees at work and stock up on honey products.
Langley Circle Farm Tour
Come see the best of what Langley's farm community has to offer. Sample award winning wines, eat at a bistro, visit an equestrian centre, or just stop and smell the roses.
Highlights include:
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Thunderbird Show Park: One of North America's premiere equestrian facilities; features five major tournaments and a variety of events and shows throughout the year.
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Domaine de Chaberton: Visit the first and largest estate winery in the Fraser Valley; sample authentic French cuisine at the Bacchus Bistro.
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Sterling Farms: Take a tour of this farm that specializes in fine fleeces. See exotic animals like alpacas, llamas, and cashmere producing goats.
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Cedar Rim Nursery: A plant lovers delight; see over 5,000 different plant species on over 30 acres in one of the Fraser Valleys largest nurseries.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Circle Tour
Come for the day or stay for the weekend. Sample fruits and wines, explore glorious gardens, or check out a Farmer's Market.
Highlights include:
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Blue Heron Fruit Winery: Enjoy a different take on fruit at this family operated winery. Sample fruit and desert wines made from various berries, including cranberries, strawberries, and apricots.
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Hopcott Premium Meats: Check out the 54-foot meat counter at this unique store on Hopcott Family Farm. Take home some naturally fed, dry-aged and hormone-free beef, or try Hopcott's locally-grown chicken and pork.
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Honeyland Canada: Take a self-guided tour of this amazing apiary, home to over a thousand colonies of bees. Stop by the retail store for a raw honey taste test, and don't forget to try the organic blueberries pollinated on site.
Mission Circle Farm Tour
Sample natural fruit wines, try 35 varieties of apples, or view a working farm.
Highlights include:
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Spady Farms: Take an educational tour of this working farm, home to barnyard regulars like cattle and pigs, plus exotics animals like llamas and alpacas.
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Silver Hill Apple Orchard: Come and sample some of the 35 varieties of apples grown on this working farm and orchard.
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